


A Butler's Dilemma

by Misskiku



Series: The Sleeping Princess [2]
Category: Rune Factory 4
Genre: F/M, Fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-02-15
Updated: 2017-02-15
Packaged: 2018-09-24 15:19:45
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,037
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9767837
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Misskiku/pseuds/Misskiku
Summary: Frey, tired from her Princess duties and advernturing all day, falls asleep on Vishnal’s bed.





	

There was nothing Vishnal could do to prepare himself for the sight before him. The door clicked shut behind him, the sound jolting him in place. His mouth dropped open. Pulse spiked, cheeks flushed. He almost dropped the tea tray in his hands as he stared at Frey sound asleep on his bed.

He’d only been gone a moment. Only long enough to boil water, to pour it into the teapot and ready the tray. Now, she lay atop his bed, her cheeks pressed into his pillow, one hand beneath it, the other softly gripping the sheets. Her lips parted, she exhaled a soft sigh.

He almost dropped the tray again.

“P-P-Princess!” Vishnal choked in a whisper. He could barely make out any words through the heat flooding his face. She couldn’t sleep here! This was his bed. It wasn’t proper! It wasn’t!

And yet… she was too cute. Her soft, gentle breathing, the way her long hair draped over her shoulder and across the sheets…

No! No, no, no, no! What was he thinking?

Vishnal shook his head vigorously to rid those thoughts clouding his mind. This was unbecoming of him.

It was unbecoming of her to fall asleep on his bed!

Vishnal set the tray down on his desk, quietly, so as to not disturb her. Though, he realised, he’d have to wake the sleeping Princess regardless. She had to return to her own bed.

He pressed his lips together firmly and forced himself to turn towards her. His heart surged. Heat flooded his body, his cheeks, his ears. Every muscle in his body grew taught. The air kept in his lungs burned, lest he breathe and make a sound.

But he had to.

He had to approach her. Wake her up. It wasn’t any different to what he did every morning.

And yet, it was different.

This wasn’t her room. He wasn’t surrounded by her things, her scent. There wasn’t a plush toy by his bed, nor a storage box by the foot of it. It didn’t smell like copper and iron from her forge, or baked goods or spices from her kitchen.

This was his room. She was lying on his bed.

He forced a step forward, the step silent on the rug. “P-Princess?” He struggled to sound out her title, cleared his throat, and tried again. “Princess? You mustn’t sleep here…”

Frey didn’t stir.

Hadn’t she heard him?

Vishnal swallowed and approached his bed. “Princess, wake up.” He reached out only to freeze as she shifted. She rolled onto her back with a gentle, sleepy moan.

Heat spiked through him, to the very tips of his fingers. A jolt of lightning energy that buzzed and buzzed and coursed through him like liquid fire.

“Princess–” he choked her title now. Was she doing this on purpose? To test his resolve? Or to shatter it completely?

It was crumbling with every passing second. Crumbling beneath the weight of a burning desire. He’d desperately tried to quash it, to press it down, deep down, inside of him.

Now, it wished to swim freely.

He held on to the remaining threads of his resolve, the dignity he had as a butler, and the trust he knew she had in him.

He swallowed thickly, took a deep breath, and calmed himself. “Princess? It’s time for you to wake up,” he said, and gently shook her shoulder. Carefully, so as to not touch her bare skin, gently, so he wouldn’t hurt her.

Frey sighed at his touch. Her eyes flickered open, held his for a moment, and closed.

“Vishnal?” the breathy way she sighed his name made him snatch his hand back to his side.

“You shouldn’t be sleeping here, Princess,” he continued, trying to coax her awake.

Frey hummed, and peeled open her eyes. She flinched against the light before slowly sitting up. “Did I fall asleep?” She rubbed at her eyes and yawned. “Sorry. I had a long day.”

Vishnal took a robotic step back, placing a polite distance between them. He smiled down at her, feeling relief as his heart calmed. “That’s all right. You were so cute I didn’t want to wake you.”

Frey blinked up at him, startled, and it clicked what he’d said.

“D-Did I say that out loud?” Vishnal gasped. His cheeks burned. The heat only worsened when Frey laughed it off.

She stood and stretched, giving another yawn. “I should go to bed before I fall asleep again.”

Vishnal nodded before eyeing the tea tray on his desk. “Oh – what about the tea?”

Frey followed his gaze as he inspected the now-cold tea.

“It’s gone cold.” Vishnal’s expression dropped. He traced the rim of one of the teacups with his finger, before giving Frey a sad smile.

“Perhaps we could do this tomorrow night, instead?” Frey offered. “If you’re not busy?”

Vishnal lit up at the suggestion. “O-Of course! I’d love to!”

Frey giggled at his enthusiasm, at the energy in his eyes and voice. “Great. I’ll bake us some cookies to go with it, then.”

“Oh, but you should leave that to me!” Vishnal beamed. “As a butler, it is my duty to serve in any way I can!”

Frey bit back a grimace. She forced a smile, trying desperately not to think about his many, many failed attempts at cooking. The last thing she wanted was a stomach ache.

“How about you make the tea, and I make the cookies?” Frey suggested. “That way, it’s even. And I enjoy baking, anyway.”

Vishnal nodded eagerly. Frey could feel his excitement from where she stood. Still, she yawned.

“Right. I’m going to head off to sleep, now,” she said. Her eyelids drooped, fluttered shut, before she blinked them open. “I’ll see you tomorrow.”

“Goodnight, Princess.” Vishnal smiled at her as she trudged from his room. “Sweet dreams.”

It was only when she left that he collapsed onto his bed. Why did she have to be so cute? She was just as adorable awake and asleep! And even cuter when she was half-asleep!

Those soft sighs, the tired roll of her shoulders, the moan that escaped her lips as she stretched…

She was just too cute.

And he couldn’t be happier.


End file.
